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one-sheet publicity photos press LISTEN (mp3 format) sampler from Hoo Dee Hoo 7" (NAS/Atomisk) |
Best Band Name Miami New Times, Best of Miami 2006, May 10, 2006 http://www.miaminewtimes.com/bestof/award.php?oid=oid:120383§ion=&year=2006
Dead Hookers' Bridge Club The three University of Miami music students who make up the Dead Hookers' Bridge Club definitely know how to rock. With old-school rock influences like Chuck Berry, and loud, fast and crazy influences like Turbonegro, Motorhead and Nashville Pussy, the trio embraces rock 'n' roll's dirty, debaucherous roots. "Expect good ol' rock and roll, as loudly and drunkenly as we are capable," drummer Dr. Johnny Thunder said. Thunder, bassist Jack Switchblade and guitarist/vocalist Ace Roller already have one album released on South Florida label Atomisk records, Fast Cars, Stiff Drinks, Loose Women. A new 7-inch called The Hoo Dee Hoo is slated for release on New Art School Records in the next few weeks, and surely more destruction and mayhem will follow them on a national tour this summer. Find them at myspace.com/thedeadhookersbridgeclub or deadhookersbridgeclub.com. --Liza Hearon South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Apr 7, 2006 http://www.southflorida.com/music/sfl-homegrown.pg,0,546137.photogallery?coll=sfe-music-promos&index=5
The Dead Hookers Drink Blue Hawaiians – But They Rock Like Jack By Matt Gajewski BBT Contributing Writer The outlaws sit at the bar, knocking back another round of drinks. Dressed in black cowboy hats, sunglasses and leather, they seem out of place amid the stylish hipsters flitting about I/O Lounge in the Omni District. They’re like an anachronism from a time that never existed, a fusion of “American Graffiti” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” I immediately imagine them swigging rotgut whiskey or bathtub gin, but a closer examination disproves my theory. The outlaws are drinking Blue Hawaiians. Meet Jack Switchblade, Ace Roller, and Dr. Johnny Thunder (the doctorate is in rock ‘n’ roll), better known as the Dead Hookers' Bridge Club, a Miami band running from the law and rock ‘n’ roll convention. In less than a year, the Dead Hookers have carved a niche for themselves in the local music scene, somehow coexisting in the polar universes of Jack Daniels and fruity tropical drinks. Supposedly formed in the “high desert” outside of Flagstaff, Ariz. (as suiting a mythology as any) the Hookers bring their relentless energy, wry humor, and dirtied-up rock to every venue they play – whether it’s a bar, a house party, or a United Methodist church. Fast Cars! Stiff Drinks! Loose Women, the Hookers’ debut EP, is a refreshing, heartfelt homage to the days of pomade and muscle cars, singer Ace Roller’s honky-tonk vibrato riding on frenetic crash cymbals and gritty guitars. Like the life of James Dean, it ends violently and abruptly after five short tracks. But before the last squeal of feedback escapes from the speakers, a mission statement is clearly formulated: they play it hard, they play it fast, and they play it loud. Sensing their lives might be tragically cut short like the protagonists of their songs, the trio bypassed the long wait for an A&R scout’s attention and founded their own record label, Atomisk Records, which released Fast Cars! in early May. To date, they’ve sold several hundred copies – not bad for an album recorded on a budget of zero dollars. In addition to album sales, the Hookers reap the dividends of their provocative t-shirts, which feature a naked woman seemingly plucked from a Russ Meyer film posed suggestively on a gun. Though their name and logo might offend some people, it has won them fans in unlikely places, such as a man from New Zealand who accidentally came across the band’s website after Googling “dead hookers.” “He bought four CDs and a shirt,” says Thunder. “We didn’t bother asking him why he was searching for dead hookers.” Even with their outlandish name and song titles like “Hung Like Whales” and “F--- Texas,” the Hookers are far from a conceptual joke. Frank Zappa once asked, “Does humor belong in music?” and the Hookers’ answer is a resounding yes – but with one stipulation: it still has to rock. A Hookers show is essentially a demonstration of Murphy’s Law. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Kick drums will disintegrate and cause Dr. Johnny Thunder to play standing up. Drunken fans will punch Jack Switchblade in the face. Ace Roller will inadvertently pull out his power supply, transforming a show-closing chant of “Drink, drink, drink, drink! Die, die, die, die!” into silence with one ill-fated movement of his foot. Rather than hinder the performance, however, these setbacks merely add to the Hookers’ mystique, a triumph of chaos over formula. Every mishap is viewed as a badge of honor, and besides, the band’s usually fuzzy on the specifics anyway. “I don’t remember a good portion of the shows we play,” admits Switchblade. “I don’t remember our last show at I/O because of Blue Hawaiians.” The dearth of live music venues in Miami has forced the Hookers to often play in unusual settings, such as the aforementioned Methodist church, where they performed songs about murder and sexual bondage for a fair trade coffee benefit. They also once played on a bill with all Latin rock bands at Churchill’s Pub (the equivalent of Enrique Iglesias headlining a death metal festival). Their first big break came when they won a WVUM contest to open for Enon at I/O Lounge. Thanks to a rousing performance, they caught the attention of Dominic Sirianni, a bass player for The Remnants and co-founder of New Art School Booking, one of the premiere independent promoters in town. A rare promoter who’s more interested in art than bank statements, Sirianni now books most of the Hookers’ shows and plans to release their next 7-inch on his New Art School label. “They’re one of the few true rock ‘n’ roll bands left,” Sirianni says, alluding to the break-up of countless prominent South Florida bands in the last year. Part of the difficulty of making it as a Miami band is the city’s geographic location, “the Galapagos of music,” according to Sirianni. At the same time, he notes that the small, insular nature of the local scene has fostered a supportive environment where everyone looks out for each other, as opposed to New York City’s petty infighting. Both Sirianni and the Hookers agree that the prospects for Miami artists have improved greatly in the last few years. Independent promoters are making more of an effort to support local talent, and the formation of Sweat Records has finally given them a sympathetic outlet for their creativity. “Sweat Records is one of the best things to happen to Miami,” says Switchblade. “Everything they do is worth going to.” Sirianni agrees. “Sweat Records is a boon for the scene. It’s an epicenter for things to go on.” Homegrown music in Miami still has its problems – a disturbing lack of all-ages venues, for one. But the recent crop of dynamic young bands such as the Hookers, Awesome New Republic, and the Down Home Southernaires has made the viability of a vibrant local scene more plausible. If Charles Darwin could bring the world’s attention to the tiny Galapagos Islands, maybe these tireless upstarts can do the same for Miami rock ‘n roll. Biscayne Boulevard Times, October, 2005
“The Dead Hookers’ (Bridge Club) ending a show chanting ‘drink drink drink drink die die die die’ as they inadvertently pull their own power supply out of the socket is pure chaotic exhilaration.” Miami Hurricane, Tues. Sept. 6, 2005
“Then there's The Dead Hookers’ Bridge Club, which does this sort of really raw, drunken sort of Chuck Berry high school dance party kind of thing.'' Miami Herald, Fri. Aug. 26, 2005
“By the time The Dead Hookers’ Bridge Club, Miami's champions of punk, had arrived, a sizeable crowd was on hand to shake their hips and fists to instant classic ‘Hung Like Whales.’” Miami Hurricane, Fri. Sept. 9, 2005
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